Premium
Defect‐Rich Copper‐doped Ruthenium Hollow Nanoparticles for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalysis in Alkaline Electrolyte
Author(s) -
Liang Jiashun,
Zhu Lixing,
Chen Shaoqing,
Priest Cameron,
Liu Xuan,
Wang HsingLin,
Wu Gang,
Li Qing
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
chemistry – an asian journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.18
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1861-471X
pISSN - 1861-4728
DOI - 10.1002/asia.202000695
Subject(s) - overpotential , electrocatalyst , electrolyte , electrolysis of water , materials science , water splitting , ruthenium , chemical engineering , electrolysis , inorganic chemistry , nanoparticle , hydrogen , electrochemistry , hydrogen production , catalysis , copper , oxygen evolution , amorphous solid , nanotechnology , chemistry , electrode , metallurgy , organic chemistry , photocatalysis , engineering
It is of great importance to develop highly ecient and stable Pt‐free catalysts for electrochemical hydrogen generation from water electrolysis. Here, monodisperse 7.5 nm copper‐doped ruthenium hollow nanoparticles (NPs) with abundant defects and amorphous/crystalline hetero‐phases were prepared and employed as efficient hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts in alkaline electrolyte. Specifically, these NPs only require a low overpotential of 25 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm −2 in 1.0 M KOH and show acceptable stability after 2000 potential cycles, which represents one of the best Ru‐based electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution. Mechanism analysis indicates that Cu incorporation can modify the electronic structure of Ru shell, thereby optimizing the energy barrier for water adsorption and dissociation processes or H adsorption/desorption. Cu doping paired with the defect‐rich and highly open hollow structure of the NPs greatly enhances hydrogen evolution activity.